The Bruins have selected their backup goalie for next season, and it is Niklas Svedberg.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

The Bruins have selected their backup goalie for next season, and it is Niklas Svedberg.

Svedberg was signed to a one-year, one-way contract worth $600,000 Monday, essentially sealing Svedberg’s status as the backup goaltender in Boston this season.

Incumbent backup Chad Johnson is an unrestricted free agent and will be allowed to sign elsewhere.

“With how tight the cap is in Boston for next year, as well as what the goalie market for a guy like myself is, nothing really could work out unfortunately,” Johnson said in an email to the Daily News.

The 24-year-old Svedberg has spent the last two seasons in Providence. After an eye-opening rookie season in which he was the AHL’s goalie of the year with a 2.17 GAA and .925 save percentage, the Swedish netminder slipped as a sophomore. He struggled early after losing out on a varsity spot to Johnson in training camp, despite posting stronger numbers than Johnson.

Svedberg finished the regular season with a 2.63 GAA and .910 save percentage while sharing the net with Malcolm Subban, then posted a 2.70 GAA and .905 save percentage in the postseason. He played one game in the NHL, beating the Jets in January with 33 saves in a 3-2 overtime win.

“I think initially [in the season] he was disappointed,” assistant general manager Don Sweeney told the Daily News earlier this month. “He had played very well in training camp and there was a little of a malaise around him. Once he got his head in the right mind, he had a very solid year. If you look at last year vs. this year in the playoffs, there's an improvement there. Playoffs are a different animal and I think he handled himself well. Had some struggles in certain games.”

With Svedberg’s addition, the Bruins have approximately $7.7 million left in salary cap space. Priorities include re-signing Jarome Iginla and locking up restricted free agents Matt Bartkowski, Torey Krug and Reilly Smith.

By not making a qualifying offer to Svedberg before the contract, the Bruins saved a couple hundred dollars, money Svedberg could make up on his next contract in the summer of 2015.

The move will also open up playing time for Subban, the 2012 first-round pick who played 33 games as a first-year pro last season.

It also officially pushes Johnson out the door. Johnson was an unknown when he signed a one-year, $600,000 deal last summer as a free agent, having played in 10 NHL over three seasons with two franchises. He leaves a season later after a strong run as Rask’s backup, compiling points in all but three of his 23 starts, a 2.10 GAA and .925 save percentage.

“This season meant everything professionally as well as personally,” Johnson wrote in an email. “Professionally it was my first real opportunity in the NHL so I had/have a lot to prove as usual. It was a big test for me and a challenge I’ve worked hard to try and get. Being around a great group of players, coaches and fans on a daily basis gives me so much experience that will only be positive moving forward.

“Personally it was amazing. To have the opportunity to play for an NHL team full time and to be apart of an organization like the Bruins was a huge honor and privilege. I am very grateful for the opportunity Peter [Chiarelli] as well as Claude [Julien] gave me last year. They had a lot of confidence in me for [the] very little experience I had at the NHL level. I am very grateful for the opportunity.

“Moving forward I am excited for the next opportunity to prove more and more. I love to win and be a part of a winning environment. I obviously would love to be able to help a team win a lot of hockey games. So I am looking for a chance to really have an important [role] one day with a team. Regarding next year I really have no idea what will happen. Just hoping for the best!”

There should be a landing spot for Johnson, 28, in free agency. Several teams are in need of a backup goaltender, including the Capitals, Coyotes, Devils, Flames, Flyers, Islanders, Jets, Maple Leafs and Stars.

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